Schizophrenia is a mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, manage emotions, and relate to others. Patients with schizophrenia may seem like they have lost touch with reality.
The average age of onset tends to be in the late teens to the early 20s for men, and the late 20s to early 30s for women. It is uncommon for schizophrenia to be diagnosed in a person younger than 12 or older than 40.
A diagnosis of schizophrenia often follows the first episode of psychosis. During this time, individuals can experience hallucinations, delusions (such as paranoia and irrational fears), unusual thinking and disorganized speech.
However, there are other more subtle symptoms which can occur years before someone experiences their first acute psychotic episode. These symptoms appear gradually and worsen over time.
Flat affect
People with schizophrenia have a flat, emotionless gaze. They have a limited range of emotions and have an inability to express joy or inability to cry.
They show little response to emotional ordisturbing situations or images or may show an inappropriate response such as laughing at bad news.
Impaired cognition
Schizophrenia also affects cognition, or the way people think. It leads to the inability to maintain focused attention. It makes people with schizophrenia seem spaced out or “out of it.”
It can also affect working memory which keeps things in your head for active processing. They also have reduced executive control which makes it difficult to complete tasks.
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Lack of Interest
Someone with schizophrenia will often lose interest and motivation in the things that used to bring them pleasure in the past, such as hobbies, relationships, and sex.
They stop looking after themselves such as caring about their hygiene and the change in their appearance will be quite noticeable.
Social Withdrawal
They avoid social contact and isolate themselves as they grow more and more suspicious of others. They no longer want to leave the house and can spend hours on end alone in their bedroom.
They don’t make eye contact when speaking or being spoken to and generally lack the will to interact with the world around them. The ability to make small talk is lost and they give brief or disrupted responses to questions.
Excessive Fatigue and Sleepiness
Patients with schizophrenia report extreme fatigue and excessive daytime sleepiness. In fact, a change in sleep pattern may be the first sign of the start of psychosis.
The sleep-wake cycle disrupted, and sleep can occur at any time of the day or night. It might also be difficult to get an or stay asleep due to anxiety caused by the psychotic symptoms.
People with schizophrenia often lack insight about their illness so it’s often friends or family that get them help. If you think someone you know may have symptoms of schizophrenia, talk to him or her about your concerns.
If your loved one poses a danger to self or others, you may need to call 911 or other emergency responders for help so that they can be evaluated by a mental health professional.
